The longer a breach goes undetected, the more embarrassing it is for the organisation in question. But what’s a good target for identifying an incident? According to Ponemon Institute’s 2018 Cost of a Data Breach Study, it’s 100 days. The average cost of an incident discovered within this timeframe was $5.99 million (about €5.3 million), but if it takes longer, the average rises to $8.7 million (about €7.7 million). Common causes of data breaches Data breaches are often very hard to prevent, but that’s not to say they’re difficult to anticipate. Almost all incidents are caused by one or more of the following: Weak and stolen credentials. Stolen passwords are one of the simplest and most common causes of data breaches. Far too many people rely on predictable phrases like ‘Password1’ and ‘123456’, which means cyber criminals don’t even need to break into a sweat to gain access to sensitive information. Even moderately secure passwords can be cracked with the help of a computer programmes that run through millions of the most popular credentials, so you need to think hard to create something original whenever you choose your password. You’re also vulnerable if you leave your password written down or use the same phrase for multiple accounts.READ MORE

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